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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. suit — clothes
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. field — for sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — farmland
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stock — shares
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. field — a subject
  24. suit — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com